Jitsuri Soshi
Description Darkness is the first immediate impression. A towering wall of jet-black fur and gleamingly black skin rise overhead, topped with the noble countenace of the king of cats. A luxurious mane of shining black fur- bound and braided in certain places, pulling the fur away from his deep crimson eyes- falls around the long nose, whiskered muzzle and powerful neck of this shishi no oni. He could easily bear what Atlas does on shoulders so heavy, and his chest looks to be a breastplate itself, sculped of glimmering onyx. The air this creature- demon to some, spirit to others- carries about with him is one of silent patience, restrained fury, controlled consideration. Very little energy is wasted in motion or word, and when he turns his head or pricks his ears, there is a reason. Long-fingered hands are tipped with razored claws, but the pads of his hands are velvety soft. Not, of course, that anyone has gotten close enough to the fearsome looking creature to discover that. Soft leather boots cover his feet, supporting his weight over snow and leaves as quietly as the paws of his feline breathern. Indeed, the ideas that arise when one thinks of lions seem personified in this spirit creature: nobility, ferocity, pride and protectiveness. Any who stand beside him are overwhelmed by his shadow, and it is entirely up to the reactions of others whether that shadow falls with a cold air of menace or a determined aura of guardianship. Personality Quiet and not much for the words of strangers, being an outcast by nature and by his current situation. Background ::The Army of Spirits, and the War in Jigoku:: Jigoku, the Realm of Evil, a Jealous realm that wishes nothing but to consume and destroy the Realm of Mortals. The only creatures that live in that horrible place are the Oni. Most are spirits of anger and malice, but that does not mean all of them are that way, for a war is waged in the Realm of Evil by those that wish not for their realm to spread and those that wish it to. The oni of the spirit armies, the Go-zu oni, the Me-zu oni and many countless others face a seemingly never ending war against their cousins, the ones who wish nothing but to escape into Ningen-do and bring the taint of Jigoku with them. ::How he came to be::: Jitsuri, the only one of his kind to exist within Jigoku that he knew of, chose the path of the army of spirits. His concept of honor is what led him to that path, a concept learned from those unlucky souls evil enough to be cast into the pits. He knew not of what was truly going on with his realm, beings a newly spawned creature he only knew of his duty and fought long and hard to keep the creatures of true evil from escaping into the land of Mortals, until one evening he awoke elsewhere, the air was not thick with the stink of malice, the earth was not soaked in blood, but stood before him a twitchy little man with a want of nothing but power, A foolish little man by the name of Tsuru- once a samurai, now ronin and seeking the knowledge held by the inclusive shugenja- who had dishonoured himself with an act that had forced him to ronin status, and dishonoured his family by refusing to commit seppuku. Allying himself with a maho-tsukai, he learned only enough to summon an oni from the wastes of Jigoku, but not enough to summon the type of oni he truly desired. Regardless, he was summoned and it was done: Jitsuri could do nothing but bide his time, for he knew- as the foolish ronin did not- that an oni could steal a weak soul if driven to it, take it for their own and, in doing so, cement their ties to the mortal lands. Tsuru's quest for power led him into the worst possible realms of magic, and Jitsuri was an unwilling witness to the acts the ronin commited. It was, perhaps, something of a relief when a diminutive shugenja and an eta- a shinobi no mono, commonly considered to be terrifying myth- tracked down Tsuru and slaughtered him. The shugenja, more knowledgable than the ronin had been, refrained from reading the ofuda that would have condemned the ronin's soul to Gaki-do. That moment of pause gave Jitsuri the chance he'd been waiting for, and he claimed the soul for his own. Neither the shinobi nor the shugenja seemed particularly interested in the oni, but before departing, the masked shugenja eyed him, and those golden eyes were something impossible to forget. Now Jitsuri had another problem come up: what was he going to do now? He was free from the clutches of Jigoku, the Realm of Evil no longer had a hold upon him, he now had a soul to call his own, But what now? The temptation to turn to malice was their, digging away at his belly, the wish to destroy... He shook his head and with a long sigh he collected his former master's items, the Daisho, his scrolls and what clothing and money he had left and set out on a journey to find himself. Aisho, a land of wonder... The forest of lost dreams, his home. But that soon would change, the village nearby had feared the oni... not for his deeds, but for his size and appe arance, the hunters would no longer enter their sacred woods and the farmers would stay away from their crops, this did not please Daimyo Hideyoshi, not in the very least and the oni was hunted. For days he stood his ground, Samurai after samurai had come for him but thankfully the woods were thick, and they knew nothing of the land and soon Jitsuri had made his escape, Raiding a small fishing village he took what supplies he could and stole a boat, the villagers had run from him and he was thankful he did not need to spill blood on top of this dishonorable act of cowardice and sailed far from the lands of Aisho. Accomplishments Escaping the Realm of Evil -Jigoku Affiliations * The Army of Spirits * The Samurai Kojiro Hotarubi And the Ninja Field Crow * The Fighter Heathern Ferne * The Shugenja and his mistress Kyako Soshi Properties Category:Player Characters